Christmas in Apple Ridge by Cindy Woodsmall

Author:Cindy Woodsmall [Woodsmall, Cindy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-73101-2
Publisher: The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group
Published: 2012-10-08T11:00:00+00:00

Sol stood in the tiny shed he called a workshop, behind his Daed’s house, hammering out his frustrations by attaching stringers to yet another pallet. But his mind wasn’t on the work. His thoughts lingered on Mattie … or, more accurately, on what Katie King had told him yesterday about her.

Mattie had been gone less than a week, and he felt all out of sorts. Displaced, he guessed. He had to talk to her, if just to regain his bearings. Yesterday he’d gone to King’s Harness Shop to use their phone and call her at her Mamm’s. But no one answered.

While he was there, Katie had braved the cold winds to walk from her house to her Daed’s shop so she could tell him some news about Mattie.

“I was helping Daed, and I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation when James Eash stopped by to call his mother.” Katie had smoothed her dress time and again. “In response to something his Mamm said, James said it was hard to believe that Mattie and Gideon were able to work in the same house together.”

When she’d said those words, Sol had felt a storm of emotions he couldn’t begin to decipher.

“That struck me as an odd conversation. I know I’ve heard James mention that name before, but I don’t know who Gideon is. Do you know him?”

After swallowing hard, Sol had said, “We’ve met.”

“James also said he wasn’t surprised that Gideon was doing whatever he could to help her replace all her pans.”

Sol’s jumbled emotions had funneled into one: irritation. First the man broke her heart, and then when she was clearly in a relationship with someone else, he decided to treat her right. “Maybe I should visit Mattie … make sure she’s doing okay.”

“That’s sweet, Sol.”

“I hope I can find a driver on such short notice.”

“You know, my family’s going to Lancaster tomorrow. Daed has some business there, and the rest of the family is going to visit relatives. We have to go through Apple Ridge on the way.”

“Think your Daed would mind if I hitched a ride with you and your family?”

She’d grinned. “I know he won’t. He’s got an order to drop off at your Daed’s place. He could do that tomorrow and pick you up while he’s there.”

Tired of replaying yesterday’s events over and over, Sol put another board on the pallet and nailed it into place. There was no way Mattie would get involved with Gideon again.

Was there?

Through the tiny window of the shed, Sol saw a large white van pull into his Daed’s driveway. The driver turned off the engine and leaned back, waiting for his passengers to disembark.

Benuel King, Katie’s Daed, got out of the van, and his wife and five children followed suit. Sol’s father came out of the house, and the two men opened the back of the van and pulled out two leather horse collars and the rigging, which they carried to the barn. Katie’s Mamm and four siblings went inside the house with Sol’s mother.

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